/sarcasm off. But I still think that it's ironic that almost all schoolchildren today know who Crispus Attucks (sp?) is, but can't identify Thomas Paine or what he wrote.
For those whose education is lacking, Crispus Attucks was a black freedman who was the first person killed in the Revolutionary War. It was covered in my 4th, 8th, and 11th grade history texts. Thomas Paine, if I remember right, received only brief mention. And Nathan Hale was not covered at all.